


Starships and Super Heroes

by saltandlimes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, Engineer!Hux, M/M, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, ants so many ants, its great, just read it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-12 19:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7119805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltandlimes/pseuds/saltandlimes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mishap leads General Hux and Kylo Ren to a rather different world. Tony hates alien invasions, but this one wears a pretty face. Scott needs someone to hug, and Kylo Ren never got enough as a child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Suddenly Wormhole

**Author's Note:**

> Just trust us on this. It's incredible.

The scream of a dying TIE pilot echoes through the comm channel, and Hux can't stop himself from wincing. That's the third of their escort to have been picked off by a Resistance fighter in as many minutes. The shuttle shudders a little as Ren wrenches it around, dodging an x-wing who's somehow made it within the encircling ring of TIEs. 

Hux had known this was a bad idea even before they'd left Finalizer. Ren had insisted that the Resistance was less likely to pick up on their mission if they brought only a small escort, and Hux had grudgingly given in. A possible location for the new Starkiller base was too good a chance to pass up just because his co-commander had suddenly decided that having the two highest ranking members of their fleet on an almost solo mission was a good idea. It obviously wasn't, but Ren hadn't been willing to bend even an inch, and Hux had finally agreed. 

He almost laughs now. All his fears were being realized, and Ren didn't even have the grace to look surprised. Instead, the taller man is hunched over the console, pushing the shuttle's weaker engines to the max in a mad cap effort to keep up with the more maneuverable TIEs. Hux himself has the weapons console, is firing pulse after pulse at the dodging x-wings as they swim in and out of range. He's more than once had to stop to avoid a TIE which has somehow inadvertently put itself between the shuttle's weapons array and the approaching fighters, and Hux makes a mental note to write a simulation to deal with this scenario when they finally get home. 

There's a shudder that rocks the entire shuttle as one of the x-wing's finally makes it through the ring of TIEs and lands a glancing hit on the shuttle's starboard wing. A flare of blinking lights and a shrill beeping siren start, but Ren doesn't even look up from the console he's hunched over. Hux breathes out, another sigh, tries to do as much damage control as he can from his board while keeping the Resistance fighters as far away as possible.

The TIEs are breaking now, the thin shell of protection between the command shuttle and the Resistance shattering. There are more groans as metal bends, more shrieks from the damage control systems. Hux glances over at Ren, the other man's face contorted as he tries to keep at least one TIE between them and the x-wings. Then, as though feeling Hux's attention and worry, he takes his hands from the controls, closes his eyes. 

Hux has never liked the tingle of space flexing, the warping anger that leeches out of Ren as he bends space and time to his control. It's too much, too much for one man to be able to do, too much of an inch just out of sight that Hux knows he'll never be able to scratch. And now, watching Ren abandon the controls of the shuttle, he wants to scream at the other man, wants to shake him back to the hard truth of machinery and substance, away from that odd world Ren lives in. 

Just this once, though, Hux wonders if the Force might actually be useful. The crackle of fried circuitry and the creak of strained bolts is too loud, the shrill buzz of alarms pressing hard against his temples, and he knows that even Ren, talented pilot that he is, can't get them out of this. Maybe, Hux lets himself thing, just maybe the Force might actually help. 

The flare of color through the viewscreen drags Hux away from the almost rote flicks of his fingers against the targeting controls, the play of his hand over the secondary navigation systems. For a moment, he can't make out what he's looking at, what's looming right in front of them. Then, as the shuttle's overworked joints scream louder, he realizes why, realizes what they're falling towards.

“What the fucking hell, Ren?” Hux spits, voice as calm as he can make it. He's more than a little ashamed to note edge that has crept in, the faint note of panic that he can't conceal. Ren's eyes fly open and he gasps, staring through the viewport in disbelief. 

“I didn't... that wasn't...” Then he's wrenching on the controls in front of him, trying to drag the shuttle back from the yawning rip in space. Because that's what has suddenly appeared in front of them. It's a shifting globe of lights, colors running and dancing on its surface as distant galaxies warp and twist through the event horizon. Because that, Hux's frantic mind finally informs him, is what the odd distortion really is. Somehow, incredibly, space has shifted in on itself in front of them.

When he was in the academy, Hux had never enjoyed theoretical work as much as practical. Engineering he had taken to, physics had been less of a joy. But he remembers every moment of his classes on the strange vibrating strings that underlie all matter, on gravity and the odd twists that warp the very fabric of space-time. Now, right in front of him, is one of the oddest. A portal to another dimension, an absurdity that folds the fabrics of the universes together. 

Somehow, impossibly, Ren has opened a wormhole. 

It can't have been intentional, though, because the other man is hunched back over the controls, and Hux can see the strain on Ren's face. He feels his own pulse racing with an odd sort of disconnection, feels his lip bleeding where he's bitten it too hard. They're slipping further towards the anomaly, and nothing Ren is doing seems to be helping. 

Hux realizes, with a start, that Ren is muttering under his breath, soft curses as he tries to coax more power out of the shuttle's already straining engines. He's never heard Ren swear before, has wondered if the man refuses to on principle, yet another attempt to separate himself from Han Solo. Now though, Ren's voice is slowly gaining volume, just as they slip inexorably towards the roiling ball of inverted space Ren has somehow called up. 

“Ren!” Hux keeps his voice as calm as possible, but he can't wipe the sharp edge out entirely. Ren doesn't even look up. “Ren, what the fuck is happening?” And Hux doesn't even try not to swear. There are not more fighters in front of them, both the TIEs and the x-wings have fled with their more powerful engines. There's only the increasing swell of the bubble of space-time in the viewscreen. 

“Shut up, Hux. I need to concentrate.” Hux bristles. There's no chance this isn't somehow Ren's fault, some mistake he's made with a power he can hardly control at the best of times. And he has the effrontery to sound annoyed when Hux tries to figure out what to do. 

The ship is still spiraling forward, and they're skimming the edge of the wormhole now. Whatever Ren is doing to try to pull them away just isn't working. Hux glances to the flickering lights of the damage control board in front of him, to the weapons console still hot. He squeezes the trigger once, convulsively, and watches the slip slid of the pulse along the thin skin of space-time in front of them. There's not even a flare when the pulse slips away, down to some other world, some other place. Ren glances over his shoulder, the glint in his eyes slowly giving way to a flat panic that Hux has only seen once before. 

“Hux, I... This wasn't what I meant to happen...” Hux sighs, closes his eyes. There's a terrible wrenching jerk, and Hux knows that the ship has hit the event horizon. There's a flare of multicolored light, a terrific rushing suck that twists Hux's stomach up tighter than it's ever been. The edges of his vision buzz, narrow together.

***

When Hux can see again, they're falling. Well, more exactly, they're rushing all too fast through the upper atmosphere of a blue green planet that wasn't there just a few minutes before. Hux feels strange, lightheaded, but more than anything, he's horrified. The shuttle seems unresponsive, and when he darts a glance over at Ren, the man is slamming his fists into the console, has given up even trying the navigation controls.

“Ren?” And Hux hates the waver in his voice, but there's not much he can do to keep it under control. 

The engine whines, straining, and Hux knows there's nothing more they can do. They're falling faster now, caught tight in the embrace of this little planet's gravity well. There's a scream as armor plating strips off, as heat shielding crumples from the speed of their descent. The ship is falling apart underneath them, and Hux can't think of a single thing to do. Beside him, Ren stares out the viewscreen, hands clenched tight on stabilizer controls. 

Hux isn't sure if they still work.

But they're over an ocean now, great and blue and beautiful, and Hux thinks that this is a pretty planet to die on, if he has to die on a the wrong side of a wormhole with Kylo fucking Ren at his side. 

There's a line of buildings in front of him, short squat things nestled on an island, clustered together like hunched animals. And in the center is a long strip of green, a park that they're falling towards. As they skim lower, Hux sees people staring upward, standing in long streets

There's not a speeder to be seen.

But then they're toppling towards the trees, and he feels the swell of the Force around him, Ren's eyes clamped shut. And the ship shudders, slows. There's a crack as a branch shatters against the nose of the shuttle. Then a horrible jolt.

Then blackness. 

***

“What is it, F.R.I.D.A.Y?”

“I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Stark, but an alien ship has just crashed in Central Park.”


	2. Aliens Attack?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony's breakfast ends poorly, and red hair is a distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you all go. The Avengers actually show up in this chapter, and we introduce you to one of your new otp's.

It feels like his chest is a vise. This isn't actually that unusual, but the panic that twists inside him is sharper, more real than it often is. An alien ship in Central Park. There is no question who it is. 

They're back.

After everything Tony has done to prepare, after the catastrophe with ULTRON, with his hopes to save everyone, they're back. And he's sitting at breakfast, starting across his bowl of corn flakes at Steve, just staring. 

He has to do something. 

It's only then that he realizes he's shouting, yelling for FRIDAY to send everything they have, every suit, every automated system, all towards Central Park, and the wormhole that FRIDAY says is closing above the city. And he's flexing his wrists, parts of his own suit flying towards him in a whirlwind of preparation, encasing him in the only defense he's ever had, the home that he can't leave behind. And he's out on the porch, Steve's voice echoing in his ears, words meaning nothing, before he even thinks. 

Flying over the city, towards the green heart, Tony wonders how the rest are getting to the Park. But it almost doesn't matter. He has FRIDAY chirping in his ear, the other suits spreading out to encircle the ship. And he realizes he's muttering to himself, a low series of thoughts. He knew this would happen. Knew they would come back, and this crashed ship has to just be the first of many, and he's going to stop them this time. And no one believed him, but he's built up enough fire power, done enough, and this time it won't be him, falling through the wormhole alone, hearing the power in his suit fail as he stares at destruction. 

And he's looking down now, at the ship that's nestled in a long furrow, in the ground, a tree toppled next to it. He glances up. The wormhole is shrinking, collapsing in on itself. Tony feels a momentary release, a thought that at least this is the only ship coming right now. But then there's a pop, a flare of flame from the crashed ship. And he's landing, encircling the ship with suits.

Behind him there's a whir of engines. And then, then his team is spilling out, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, everyone even Vision and Wanda, and he trusts them, would trust them with his life, has trusted them with his life. And FRIDAY chirps again in his ear, lifesigns scan complete. 

“Careful, guys. I'm detecting two people still inside.” He keeps his voice low, as calm as he can, only for his team. Then, louder, “If you can hear me, come out with your hands up and weapons surrendered, unless you want me to blast you into oblivion.” It's not the most subtle, maybe, but this time, Tony isn't going to take any chances. But there's no response.

“What if they're hurt?” Steve. Always Steve. But Tony sighs, nods. It's possible. 

“FRIDAY, what exactly are you detecting?”

“Two humans, Mr. Stark. They appear to be unconscious.” And Tony starts, almost topples over, but rights himself with the jets in his suit. Human. _Human._ Not the Chitauri, not even the Asgard. No, human like him, like the Avengers are... well mostly are. He sighs again. 

“They're human, apparently. And I'm going to get them out.” He doesn't like the way his voice is still tight, doesn't like the panic still bubbling at the edges of his mind, but there's nothing he can do, and the air is starting to become thick with smoke, too thick. And Tony won't let someone die, suffocate in a downed ship, just because memories echo too loud in his head. 

The ship is thicker, stronger, than anything he usually cuts through. And it takes too long, longer than the people inside really must have. But finally, finally, he's through, Cap ripping a hole wider after Tony worms his way inside, struggling through the crumpled hull. 

The ship is off kilter, decks tilted at a strange angle. And it's a little ship, at least as Tony assumes ships go. There's a narrow hall that Tony struggles down, suit helping to keep him steady enough. A panel twisted out of alignment reveals a bunk, a locker, but no one inside. There's a sparking flare from what has to be controls, crackling in the strange stillness of the crash. 

Finally, finally, FRIDAY shows the two trapped humans are just ahead. Behind him, Tony can hear Steve, hear the heavy thump of too strong footsteps. But he doesn't wait, instead rips the broken doorpanel from it's frame, steps inside what has to be the bridge. 

And he takes a moment to wonder at what he sees. Beautiful mechanics, gleaming boards, glittering glass and chrome. And in the midst of it, two men, slumped over what have to be the ship's controls. And Tony moves towards one of them, trusts Steve to take care of the next. 

He can't breath for a minute, when he looks down.

The man in front of him is beautiful.

Truly, insanely beautiful. And it's strange to think this, in the middle of a burning wreck of a ship, still not sure if this is simply the harbinger of another alien invasion, another brush too close with death, another moment to curl in on himself at night, fingers frantically planning some desperate defense. But there's nothing he can do about it, no way to avoid what's right in front of his eyes. 

Red hair. It's a funny detail to notice. The man slumped in his chair has red hair, bright and gleaming. And Tony laughs for a second. They all have red hair. Everyone, everything he falls for so unfortunately. And this man is not going to be any different. He's suddenly, inescapably sure. 

The next thing is the blood. Smeared across a pale temple and staining the strange black uniform a darker pitch. And FRIDAY is trying to tell him something, has been trying.

“...require immediate medical attention.” Oh. Not surprising, really, but he needs to do something about it, do it now. 

“Ok. Ok guys. They're unconscious. We need...” he breaths out for a second, “medical. Call medical and get them taken to a secure cell.” He can see Steve nodding out of the corner of his eyes, can see him lifting the other man. And Tony gets a glimpse of dark hair, of a huge set of shoulders. But he's looking at the man beneath her, gathering him up to free him from the burning wreck of this strange ship. 

Whoever he is, he's human, and that's enough for now. 

***

Hux wakes up slowly. There's a beeping noise somewhere near him, rhythmic as a heartbeat. As he opens his eyes, he realizes it might actually be a heartbeat, matching his own beat for beat. And he's on a bed, a softer bed than he's had in a long time. 

The room is white.

And there are strange machines around him, old tech with flickering screens. But also shining metal, and there's something, something in his arm. He panics for a moment, thinks to rip it out. But it's there for a reason, taped tight to his stripped skin, and he takes a deep breath. It's there for a reason. He's there for a reason. 

The last thing he remembers is the blue green planet beneath them, the Force melding around him as Ren desperately tried to slow their descent. And he must be on the planet now, must be in a med center of some sort. 

But where? No planet he recognizes. They're lost. 

He's lost.


	3. Not in Kansas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony stares, and Hux freaks out... which is perfectly reasonable, if you ask him.

Tony is staring. He knows he is, and he can't really help it. But for some bizarre, strange, probably not-good-at-all reason, he can't take his eyes off of the newest alien addition to planet Earth.

It's the red hair. He's sure about it.

Well, and maybe the pretty, high cheekbones, the narrow shoulders, the tiny waist. And maybe, just maybe it isn't fair to be calling this man an alien – human he is, according to every single test they've run. But he came in a ship through a wormhole, and if that doesn't make someone an alien, Tony isn't quite sure what the definition is.

In any case, he's perched beside the other man's bed, a hand resting lightly on the coverlet. And maybe, just maybe, it's the hand that he could use to call up his suit in a moment's notice, but that isn't really important right now.

Because the man is waking up, and Tony has to quickly avert his eyes so as not to be caught. Staring. Again.

“What... where am I? Am I on the Finalizer?” The man's voice is muzzy, warm and half asleep. But it's getting stronger with every word, louder, more anxious. “What is this place? This doesn't look like the medcenter.” Tony leans forward, tries to smile down.

“Your shuttle crashed. We took you here to a secure medical facility. Where are you from?” And Tony almost feels bad for cutting to the chase so quickly, but he _has to know._ It helps they're human, that there wasn't a single hint of Chitauri tech in the downed ship. But it's still not enough. Even with the man's pretty face.

“I... General Hux. Of the... wait. You don't know who I am?” The man sounds genuinely surprised. Tony smiles slightly. Over-inflated sense of his own importance. It reminds him of someone...

“Sorry, gingerbread. I got nothing.” And he doesn't think he's ever seen someone go beet red that fast before in his life. It should clash horribly with the man's hair, but it's somehow... endearing. But as soon as the flush is there, it's gone, and the man – Hux – gets a strange, almost panicked look in his eyes.

“Where are we? I mean what sector?”

“Sector? I don't know what you mean.” Hux sighs heavily, exasperatedly.

“Well do you at least know if we're still in the Outer Rim?” The Outer Rim sounds like a region of some sort, but it's not one that Tony has heard before, even from Thor.

“I dunno about that, Red. We don't have a lot of contact with other planets around here.”

“Don't call me that!” And Hux's voice is sharp, sharp enough that Tony winces a little. But then he catches a muttered “Fucking Light, Ren. Where have you dropped us now” under Hux's breath, and realizes that the snap is only half for the nickname.

“We're not really big into the galactic scene. Where are you from?” And it's unlikely that Tony will even recognize it, but at least it might make the General – _General of what army?_ \- feel better.

“I'm the top officer in the First Order. Maybe you've heard of us?” Tony shakes his head no. “The New Republic,” there's a wince on Hux's face as he asks, “you might have heard of them?” Nope. Not them. And as Tony lists the Asgardians, the Chitauri, every alien species he can think of, he watches Hux's face fall, break a little. When he finally finishes, Hux looks a little like he's sucking on a lemon. His voice is icy cold when he finally speaks.

“Trust Ren to fuck up so badly that we're somewhere that doesn't even know about the First Order!” And it's long suffering, the sound of a man who is utterly unsurprised about a disaster. But Tony also notices the name, the second time it's come up.

“Ren? Is that the guy you came in with?” Hux sighs again, nods.

“Kylo Ren, _Master_ of the Knights of Ren,” the sarcasm is almost dripping off him, but as he continues, his voice softens, “He's ok, right? He may be a walking disaster, but he's not really that bad in the end.” Tony nods. The last he heard, the huge man was fine. Steve is probably watching him right now, waiting for him to wake. Wanda and Scott might be there too, both watching over the other man in shifts.

“Seems fine, but he's unconscious.” Hux nods, calm. Then, as though struck by a bolt of lighting, he starts up in bed.

“Oh no. Oh dear.” He's almost frantic.

“What is it?” And Tony doesn't like the tone of alarm in Hux's voice, the sudden terror in his eyes.

“Ren! The last time he was unconscious! When he woke up there was an entire medbay in ruins before I could calm him. You've got to have people watching him, take the right kind of care!” Tony almost laughs. But the worry on Hux's face is real, and that would be cruel. Instead, he settles for a reassuring smile – or at least the closest he can manage.

“Don't worry, our best people are watching him like hawks.” And if there's something that Wanda can't deal with, Tony doesn't want to imagine what it is...

***

Kylo is somewhere strange.

But he's alive. Alive when he didn't think that was going to be the end result of their headlong plummet to the odd blue green planet.

And he's struggling out of the dark, head throbbing and back aching.

“Can you hear me? Hey, Ren. Is that your name? Are you alright?” And it's a voice he doesn't recognize, deep and clear. And he throws out an arm, feels the Force throb through him. There's a crash, a metallic clang.

And then, and then he's frozen, the Force still there, but unable to move.

And Kylo doesn't know what to do.


	4. Mind Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kylo wakes up, and things are thrown about.

When Kylo breathes deep enough to look around, to try to figure out what's happening, there's a pretty woman standing in front of him, eyes fixed. And it's strange, the sparks flying around her fingers, her hands. Only they aren't sparks, aren't flame. 

They're holding him still. He's certain of it. 

And he struggles, pushes hard with the Force. Yet he can do nothing, not-flame holding him tight, wrapped around him like iron bonds.   
And he's reaching out again, pulling and twisting reality to send a piece of some sort of medical equipment flying across the room, towards her head. But there's something flying across the room, deflecting it before it can reach her, a ringing clang. And Kylo thinks it must be some sort of shield, red and white and maybe blue – Kylo can't quite catch a glimpse of it because that red is wrapping around him again, tight on his arms. And there is something pushing against his mind. 

He pushes back. 

And the pressure's gone, but the woman is staring at him again. And Kylo sees something, a thin knife, scalpel, and it's hurling toward the man who threw the shield, towards his pretty face, but he's moving too fast, knocking it away, and whatever's holding Kylo squeezes tighter. 

And Kylo gasps.

“We aren't going to hurt you!” It's the man who speaks, voice quiet but forceful. “Look. You crashed. You're in a medical facility at our base. We rescued you. You're going to be fine.” Kylo takes a deep breath. It's all flooding back, the city that stretched below them, the rush of green and blue as he desperately tried to stop the ship from disintegrating around him. Around Hux. 

Where is Hux?

“My... my companion? Is he alright?” And Kylo doesn't particularly like Hux, is frequently infuriated by him. But he doesn't think he could bear this, this strange place, these people who look at him without fear, if Hux was not alright. 

“The red haired guy in the uniform?” Kylo nods. “He's fine. Hang on. One of the rest of our team is in with him right now. I can ask him how it's going.” And he clears his throat, makes a sharp gesture to turn something on. 

“Tony?” There's a crackle, a sound like a throat clearing. 

“Yeah?”

“How's the guy in with you? Ours is asking about him.” And Kylo takes the moment to push a little at the bonds holding him, reach out with the Force to feel around the room. And they've weakened a little, but he thinks it's not because of anything he's doing. The woman staring at him seems to have relaxed a little, maybe calmed by his concern for Hux. 

“Yup. He's fine. Up and talking. About math, believe it or not.” Kylo does believe it, remembers how Hux had once discussed the details of the curvature of spacetime as Starkiller drained a star for three hours in a meeting while he'd had to look on. The man looks confused though, distracted by the answer, and he strikes again. 

But this time, this time he doesn't fling equipment. No, he slides finger thing warping lines through the force, pokes and feels at the woman's mind, tries to slip inside. 

Her eyes go wide.

And she's spitting man, shoving him away, pushing his mind out in a torrent.   
“Steve.” Her voice is tight. “He's trying to invade my mind.” The man, Steve, he turns to Kylo, eyes aflame. 

“Look. We're trying to help you. We want to help you. But you. Have. To. Stop. Fighting.” And his voice is ice. There's a pounding in Kylo's temples, a throb. Kylo nods. 

“Release me, and I'll stop. No using the Force on either of you.”

“Stop pushing against me first.” It's the woman, and Kylo wonders if she is some sort of Jedi. But he's not about to do that. 

“No can do. You have me prisoner. You let me up first.” She nods, and he heaves a sigh as he can move his fingers, toes, hands again. 

“Where am I, anyway?” And he evens out his voice, smooths it over as the red not-flame disappears, shrinks to nothing around the woman. 

“Earth, ever heard of it?” Kylo shakes his head. Even Ben, with all his encyclopedia knowledge drilled into him by Leia Organa, never knew that name. And he wonders just how far that wormhole took them. 

“So you weren't actually trying to end up here?” Steve's voice is concerned, troubled. 

“No. It was an accident. We were just trying to escape some fighters chasing us, and our shuttle fell through. I only just barely stopped us from falling to pieces on reentry.” And suddenly Kylo realizes he has no idea what happened to their shuttle. But the man is nodding, opening his mouth. 

“Yeah. That shuttle's pretty much a wreck now.” And Kylo sighs. That's going to make getting home just a little more complicated. But he nods, starts to ask another question. Only he doesn't, because the door is banging open, and there's a humanoid shape coming inside, suit entirely covering him. 

“So is this our new alien?” And it seems like a human voice coming from inside that helmet, but Kylo isn't exactly sure. Steve nods.

“Hi!” And the helmet comes off. Kylo makes sure he doesn't gasp. Definitely a human. Definitely a pretty human. “I'm Scott.”

“Kylo.” And he doesn't stutter, doesn't stumble over his words. Even though he wants to, wants to stare. Because that bright glance is trembling somewhere inside him, and it's the first true smile Kylo has seen in years, a decade maybe. And it's pointed right at him. 

“Where are you from?” And it suddenly hits Kylo. He doesn't know. He doesn't have any idea, and he can no longer feel the Supreme Leader as a pulsing knot at the base of his skull. And that has never happened before. 

And it is strange. 

And good. 

And terrifying.


End file.
